2019 Pac-12 Men’s Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

ASU's Grant House is one of the top medal threats in the 200 free tonight, but he'll be competing with the likes of Cal's Andrew Seliskar and Stanford's Jack LeVant. Archive photo via Tim Binning/TheSwimPictures.com

Another interesting aspect of today is the brewing team battle between USC and Utah for 5th place. The Utes only are lagging behind the Trojans by 38 points going into today, and with that margin, anything is poosible.

2019 MEN’S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS

Tonight’s finals at the 2019 Pac-12 Men’s Championships will feature the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, and 400 free relay. Look out for Cal’s Andrew Seliskar, the Pac-12 Record holder in the 200 free. The men’s 400 IM could be a close one between a handful of swimmers, as 2018 Pac-12 champ Seliskar won’t be swimming the event and reigning NCAA champ/Pac-12 Record holder Abrahm DeVine of Stanford will be swimming in the B final. USC’s Carsten Vissering, the 2017 Pac-12 100 breast champion, will battle Cal freshman standout Reece Whitley in the 100 breast.

Cal’s Mike Thomas was leading by over a second at the halfway mark, when Arizona freshman David Schlicht began to close the gap on breaststroke. By the end of the breast leg, Schlicht led Thomas, but Thomas (3:39.83) dropped the hammer on the freestyle leg to clip Schlicht (3:40.14) at the finish. That was another 2-second drop for Schlicht, while Thomas recorded his 2nd ever sub-3:40 swim. The only time he’s been faster was at 2018 NCAAs, where he swam his lifetime best 3:37.75.

Cal’s Sean Grieshop used his closing freestyle speed to run down Arizona’s Etay Gurevich (3:42.47) in the race for bronze. Grieshop took nearly a second off his lifetime best in 3:41.17.

Stanford’s Alex Liang was just a couple of tenths shy of his best time in 3:43.10 for 5th. His teammate Abrahm DeVine, the reigning NCAA champion in this event, won the B final in a 3:43.42 that would have landed 6th in the championship heat.

Cal’s Zheng Quah put up his fastest time since 2017 NCAAs to win his first of two races tonight. Quah and teammate Pawel Sendyk were tied at the 50-mark in 20.95, but Quah pulled away on the back half to win in 45.13. That was his 2nd fastest performance ever, while Sendyk broke 46 for the first time. Coming into this meet, Sendyk’s best was also from 2017 NCAAs, and he dropped nearly a full second throughout prelims and finals.

Arizona’s Chatham Dobbs, who will also be swimming in the 100 back final, was just a tenth shy of his best to take bronze in 45.49. Cal’s Ryan Hoffer was out in 3rd, but wasn’t able to hold off Dobbs on the back half as he finished just off the podium in 45.60. USC’sAlex Valente also came in under 46, clipping his best from December to take 5th in 45.80.

Cal’s Andrew Seliskar knocked over half a second off the Championship Record as he dominated this race. He was out in a quick 43.95 and back in a 47.12 as he clocked the 11th fastest performance in history at 1:31.07. That’s just a couple of tenths behind his lifetime best, which stands as a 1:30.86 from the UGA Fall Invitational in December.

Arizona State’s Grant House had the fastest closing 50 (23.80) as he moved ahead of Arizona’s Jorge Iga for silver, 1:32.47 to 1:32.91. House was almost a second faster than his lifetime best coming into the meet. However, he was slightly faster on Wednesday night with a 1:32.38 relay leadoff. Iga broke 1:33 for the first time as he took bronze.

Cal’s Trenton Julian (1:34.37), the 500 free runner-up, was slightly off his best time from prelims, but won a close race with Stanford freshman Jack LeVant (1:34.60) as they rounded out the top 5. The 5th fastest time of the night came out of the B final, though, as the Cardinal’s James Murphy won that heat in 1:34.47. That was a best time for Murphy by a tenth.

Another Championship Record fell, this time at the hands of USC’s Carsten Vissering. He led the field from start to finish, distancing himself from Cal freshman Reece Whitley on the back half to win it in 50.78. Vissering returns to the top of the podium, having won this event in 2017 before finishing as the runner-up last season. The was a best by a tenth and his 2nd time ever swimming under 51. He’s now the 6th fastest performer of all time.

Whitley finished 2nd in 51.38, clipping his season best and clocking his 2nd fastest swim ever behind his 51.16 from February 2018. Stanford’s Matt Anderson (52.18) was just a nail shy of his best time, which he set back in December, as he out-touched USC’s Mario Koenigsperger (52.22) for bronze. That was a best by Koenigsperger by 3 tenths.

The Cardinal’s Hank Poppe, who set his lifetime best 52.19 in time trials Wednesday night, took 5th in 52.53. Cal’s Karl Arvidsson, who also impressed in those time trials with an ‘A’ cut in the 200 breast, was close behind in a lifetime best 52.68 for 6th place.

ASU’s Zachary Poti cracked 45 for the first time, dropping half a second as he narrowly missed Ryan Murphy’s Championship Record. Poti took the lead early on, flipping in 21.52 en route to his 44.93 victory.

Arizona’s Chatham Dobbs, who finished 3rd in the 100 fly earlier, picked up another bronze in 45.77. Dobbs was the only man aside from Poti to take it out sub-22 (21.91), but Cal’s Daniel Carr (45.64) ran him down to clip him at the finish. That was a season best for both Carr and Dobbs.

There were 2 more swimmers to break 46 tonight. Arizona’s Thomas Anderson (45.97) was within a tenth of his lifetime best from prelims as he held off Cal’s Bryce Mefford (45.98) by a hundredth at the finish. Cal’s 100 fly champ Zheng Quah returned for his 2nd final of the night, taking 8th in 47.06.

MEN’S 400 MEDLEY RELAY:

Championship Record: Cal, 2009, 3:03.30

Pac-12 Record: Cal, 2015, 3:01.60

NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:06.78

GOLD: Cal, 3:04.07

SILVER: USC, 3:04.62

BRONZE: Arizona, 3:06.61

ASU (3:07.34) got out to the lead as 100 back champ Zachary Poti led off in 45.24. Cal (3:04.07) and USC (3:04.62) moved ahead of them on the breast leg, though, as Reece Whitley turned in a 51.91 for Cal and USC’s 100 breast champ Carsten Vissering came through with a 50.86 split.

Arizona (3:06.61) and Stanford (3:06.89) had a close race for bronze. Matt Anderson split a 51.98 on the breast leg to move the Cardinal ahead, but the Wildcats’ came back on the final leg as Jorge Iga turned in a 42.04 anchor split.

About Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh is a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Arizona and the University of Florida. While her college swimming career left a bit to be desired, her Snapchat chin selfies and hot takes on Twitter do not disappoint. She is now coaching for Loggerhead Aquatics in her hometown …